Armored car guard gets maximum in staged heist

January 13, 2010

Jason Jackson had been working for about six months as an armored-truck driver when he hatched a plot with his wife and best friend to stage a robbery of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from his truck, authorities say.

The friend, John Robinson Jr., posing as the robber, made off with $407,000 last March 4. But the plot quickly unraveled when the FBI suspected an inside job after a witness saw the masked bandit enter the armored car through an unlocked door at a gas station in Hazel Crest. Arrests were made the same day as the robbery and all the cash was recovered.

Today, Robinson and Jackson's wife, Richella Goeloe, who acted as a getaway driver, each pleaded guilty to a single count of theft of bank funds. Moments later, Jackson was sentenced to 2-½ years in prison for his role in the heist. He had pleaded guilty last summer to larceny. All three reside in Chicago.

Jackson, who worked for Garda Armored Services, wept as he asked to be sentenced to about a year in prison.

"I need a chance, your honor, to be a productive citizen," he said.

But U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo imposed the maximum sentence under federal guidelines. "This is unforgiveable in my book," the judge said. He also warned Robinson and Goeloe to keep out of further trouble before their sentencing in April.